Lethbridge, Alta.- An Alberta man has a plan to end hunger.
Dan Johnstone, also known as “Can Man Dan”, has been camping out to fill food banks since 2011.
“I kind of took a look at the economy in Alberta; we’ve had layoffs through the roof, the unemployment rate is skyrocketing and there is a lot of people out there struggling,”said Johnstone. “I just wanted to do what I could to make sure everyone has a hot meal on their tables for the holidays.”
“This is my accommodation. I set up my little cot and I smother myself in blankets that I got off my bed and that’s about it. It’s kind of strenuous on the body but it’s for a good cause,” said Johnstone.
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“Right now we are sitting around 200,000 pounds mark, and probably getting close to the $150,000 mark,” said Johnstone.”Everyone has been really receptive of it and it all goes back into the community.”
He hopes to add to that total this year with stops at food banks in Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Lethbridge.
Fairway Plaza’s Safeway manager jumped at the chance to help out.
“We had heard about it from our corporate office and I thought what a fantastic idea to bring that to Lethbridge,’ said Harry Fornefett. “As we know, there are lots of hard times in Lethbridge these days.”
Johnstone says he understands all too well what it means to depend on the food bank.
“As a child I used to be a recipient of the food bank, mainly in Edmonton, and more often than not they put hot meals on our tables,” he said. “They kept us fed throughout the years so the whole Can Man Dan initiative is basically to do what I can to give back.”
Can Man Dan will be set up outside the Fairway Plaza Safeway until Dec. 24, taking food and monetary donations as part of Johnstone’s “Feed Alberta” tour. He plans to fill a van full of food for the Interfaith Food Bank.
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